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TITLE In antiquity the ''Telegony'' may have also been known as the '' 8.12.5); alternatively, the ''Thesprotis'' may have been a name for the first book of the ''Telegony'', which is set in Thesprotia . A third possibility is that there was a wholly separate epic called the ''Thesprotis''; and yet a fourth possibility is that the ''Telegony'' and ''Thesprotis'' were two separate poems that were at some stage compiled into a single ''Telegony''. Most scholars at present tend to regard the third and fourth possibilities as unlikely, or at least worthless Hypotheses , since both possibilities are neither demonstrable nor falsifiable. In addition, it was standard practice with the Homer ic epics in antiquity to refer to isolated episodes by their own titles (e.g. '' Iliad '' book 5 and part of book 6 was known as " Diomedes ' ''aristeia''"). DATE The date of composition of the ''Telegony'' is uncertain. Cyrene , the native city of Eugamon , the purported author, was founded in 631 BCE ; but the story may have existed prior to Eugamon's rendition. There is a distinct possibility that the author of the ''Odyssey'' knew at least some version of the ''Telegony'' story (the Thesprotian episode and Telegonos' unusual spear in the ''Telegony'' may have been based on Tiresias ' prophecy in ''Odyssey'' book 11; but it is also possible that the ''Odyssey'' poet used the Telegonos story as a basis for Teiresias' prophecy). Certainly Eugamon's poem is most likely to have been composed in the 6th Century BCE . CONTENT The ''Telegony'' comprises two distinct episodes: Odysseus ' voyage to Thesprotia , and the story of Telegonus . Probably each of the two books of the ''Telegony'' related one of these episodes. In current critical editions only two lines of the poem's original text survive. For its storyline we are almost entirely dependent on a summary of the Cyclic epics contained in the ''Chrestomatheia'' (see also Chrestomathy ) attributed to the 5th Century CE philosopher Proclus Diadochos . A few other references also give indications of the poem's storyline. The poem opens after Odysseus' return home to , where he visits an otherwise unknown figure, Polyxenus , who gives him a bowl depicting the story of Trophonius . Odysseus returns to Ithaca and then travels to Thesprotia (presumably to make the sacrifices commanded by Tiresias in ''Odyssey'' 11). There he has an affair with the Thesprotian queen Kallidike , who bears him a son, Polypoites . Odysseus fights for the Thesprotians in a war against the neighbouring Brygoi ; the gods participate in the war. However, Callidice is killed in the war, and Odysseus returns to Ithaca. Meanwhile, it transpires that Circe , with whom Odysseus had an affair for a year in the ''Odyssey'' (books 10-12), bore his son, Telegonus (Τηλέγονος, "born far away"), who grows up on Circe's island, Aeaea . On the goddess Athena 's advice Circe tells him the name of his father, gives him an amazing spear to defend himself which is tipped with the sting of a poisonous Stingray and was made by the god Hephaestus , and sends him in search of Odysseus. A storm forces Telegonus onto Ithaca without his realising where he is. As is customary for Homeric heroes in unfriendly land, he commits piracy, and unwittingly begins stealing Odysseus' cattle. Odysseus comes to defend his property, he and Telegonus fight, and Telegonus kills Odysseus with his unusual spear, thereby fulfilling Tiresias' prophecy in the ''Odyssey'' that death would come to Odysseus "out of the sea" (i.e. the poison of the ray). As Odysseus lies dying, he and Telegonus recognise one another, and Telegonus laments his mistake. Telegonus brings his father's corpse, Penelope , and Odysseus' other son Telemachus , back to Aeaea, where Odysseus is buried and Circe makes the others immortal. Telegonus marries Penelope, and Telemachus marries Circe. EDITIONS
OTHER USES The word "telegony" also refers to a theory, purporting that the first male to procreate with a female would genetically contribute to all of her offspring, even those sired by a different male. |